Istanbul is truly another world then I am used to. However, one piece of American culture that is in abundant supply is Starbucks, which by my count out number McDonald's at least 2:1. In fact, it's a whole lot easier to get a Frappaciono (God forbid) than a good cup of Turkish coffee. The Turks like their drinks sweet, so I have taken to getting lattes instead of my usual two-pump white mochas.
Yesterday was my first major exposure to upper class Turkish culture when Kevin T. and I visited a high end shopping mall, which had four floors, air conditioning, and a movie theater. Converse is an immensely popular brand right now- with knock off Chuck Taylor's in every street market. This mall only sold the real deal- 72 USD. Looking around the mall I realized that I was one of the poorest people there- the exact opposite of what I experienced in Cambodia. It is hard to tell which experience is more humbling.
2 comments:
Has Sir Paul come in handy?
But yeah, I can certainly relate about the poverty versus riches. In Thailand, we were in a lot of poor villages for medical clinics/English teaching, but Bangkok is littered with ritzy shopping malls for the farang and the fabulously wealthy alike. (Thaksin Sinwatra owns Man. City)
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